To Light
by StarDuchess
Summary: Harry is looking to buy an owl for Teddy, when he stumbles upon an alive, but still injured, Snape. Written as a series of 100 word drabbles for advent. Will be slash - Snape/Harry. COMPLETE.
1. parts 1-5

This is a series of Advent Drabbles for Snarry image prompts. Each part is exactly 100 words.

**Prompts 1-5:** owl post office, snowed over Underground sign, holiday Christmas wreath, Hogsmeade archway and sign, and chestnuts roasting

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><p>Harry wandered down the streets of Diagon Alley, taking in the changes and the similarities to what he'd known. It'd been years since he'd walked this street, years since he'd left the Wizarding World, and he felt a bit awkward coming back.<p>

He passed by the owl post and it gave him an idea of what to get his godson, Teddy, for Yule. The boy was ten now, going on eleven, so he would be off to Hogwarts next year. An owl familiar was just what he would need.

Turning around, Harry made his way to the magical animals emporium.

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><p>The sign over the emporium was covered in snow, but he still recognized the shop with all its various species for sale. He searched through the owls, but he wasn't drawn to any of them.<p>

"Can I help you find something?"

Harry looked over at the middle-aged shopkeeper, who'd come up beside him. She seemed open and friendly, and he prayed for zero recognition. "I was looking at purchasing an owl for my godson, but none of these feel right."

"Ah, familiars are particular like that. I can give you my supplier and he'll have lots more to choose from."

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><p>Harry apparated to the shopkeeper's given coordinates. The land was rocky around a small stone cottage, he noted, as he walked up to its door. Admiring the Christmas wreath, he knocked and waited patiently.<p>

A large, burly man answered. "Can I help ya?"

"Hallo, I wanted to buy an owl for my godson, but none of the ones at the emporium felt right. She sent me here."

The man smiled. "Oh, right she is! Let's go see." He led Harry to the barn out back. Dozens of owls flew or perched around them. "Sev'rus! We gonna set up a customer."

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><p>A figure appeared at the gothic archway that was the southern opening. He moved with caution and hesitancy, taking a tentative step into the room, careful of the enormous dark owl perched on his arm. His form was hunched and thin and his head hung down, allowing for the lanky, black hair to obscure his face. But there was no hiding that prominent nose.<p>

Harry stared dumbfounded at Severus Snape, the man who had died in his arms and still haunted his nightmares.

"What are the circumstances?" Snape asked, in a tone that sounded gravelly and painful, like crunching glass.

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><p>"Young lad here wanted an owl, but none felt right at the shop. Theresa sent him here." The man turned to Harry and said, "Tell us about it all."<p>

The two stood waiting for Harry, but all Harry could do was stare at Snape. How was this possible? Snape was dead! This couldn't be him!

Snape lost his patience. "Speak up, boy. None of us have all day."

Boy? Did Snape not recognize him?

The other man chuckled. "Got him all tongue-tied there, Sev'rus! Let me fetch some chestnuts and cider. The boy looks famished and ready to keel over."

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><p><strong>AN:** So that's the first set. I'll post up each set of 5 as a chapter. See you again on Dec 10 for the next installment!


	2. parts 6-10

This is a series of Advent Drabbles for Snarry image prompts. Each part is exactly 100 words.

**Prompts 6-10:** mouse nutcracker, sleepy puppy w Santa hat, Christmas biscuits, large tree in front of manor, frost on glass

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><p>The burly man left to fetch their refreshments. Harry stared as Snape walked fully into the barn.<p>

His steps were slow and stiff with none of the grace Harry remembered. It looked rather like the gait of those wooden toy soldiers Dudley used to play with- rigid, angular and uncoordinated.

"Holiday gift-buying?" Snape sneered in Harry's general vicinity. He didn't look at Harry but rather aimed his nose in his direction.

"Huh?" said Harry, still in a daze.

"Don't mock my intelligence! This close to Christmas, your owl purchase is quite clearly for a gift. Tell me about the recipient."

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><p>"W-well," Harry started, stumbling, "he's a boy, ten, off to Hogwarts next year."<p>

"I need personality, talents. What House do you think he'll be in?

"He's a bit cheeky, mischievous, but smart, too. It's going to be a toss-up between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor." Harry's voice faded out at the end. He knew the Gryffindor part would blacken Snape's mood.

Odd thing is Snape didn't mention it, but his focus on Harry intensified. He took a step toward Harry. "What aren't you telling me? Why wouldn't an average owl work for him?"

Harry gulped. "He's already getting a puppy for Christmas?"

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><p>Although the puppy comment was true, he'd said it as a diversionary tactic. He wasn't sure he wanted to divulge certain details to Snape.<p>

"Imbecile!" Snape sneered in disgust, upset with what he perceived as Harry's attempt at a joke. "If you aren't forthcoming with pertinent information, then I cannot train your owl. Good day." He turned stiffly to leave.

"He's a metamorphmagus!" Harry blurted out. So much for discretion.

"An interesting lad, then," said the burly man, returning with hot cider drinks, chestnuts, and Christmas biscuits. "Will put your skills to good use, Sev'rus."

Snape sneered in his direction.

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><p>"What a paragon of Wizardkind. I doubt it would be hard to find an owl for him." Snape gestured around them. "A brown, a screech, a hawk -just reach with your magic and pick one." He strode out the door.<p>

"Sev'rus! Ye ain't throwin' a customer out!" the burly man yelled, following Snape out.

Harry extended his senses for a minute. "That pygmy feels close, but it's not quite right," he muttered to himself. He walked out and around the grand house to find the two men arguing by the a large Christmas tree.

"I refuse to work with dishonesty."

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><p>"Alright, fine!" Harry shouted, his anxiety overridden by his irritation. "He's a metamorphmagus from his mother and he's got werewolf tendencies from his father. He-"<p>

"Potter!" Snape snarled. "I should have known. Go away."

"Sev'rus, if he wants to buy an owl, we'll train 'im an owl," said the burly man.

"I refuse to work for Potter, especially if it's for Lupin's brat!"

"Didn't you know it was me when you stepped through the door? You asked me all those questions." Harry was confused and walked up to stare into Snape's eyes.

Eyes that were crystalline, like frost.

"You're blind."

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay second set. Hope you are liking it so far. Reviews are a nice present. See you again on Dec 15!


	3. parts 11-15

This is a series of Advent Drabbles for Snarry image prompts. Each part is exactly 100 words.

**Prompts 11-15:** black and white wolves, hot chocolate, shelves of boxes, poinsettia flowers, red and green peppermint and raspberry cocktail drinks

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><p>"Oh, my god, Professor, what happened?"<p>

Snape scowled and turned away. "Nothing that would concern the _Chosen One_, I assure you."

"Now, Sev'rus-"

"You great git! Would it hurt you to know that people care about you? I looked for your body after the final battle, but it was gone!" Harry's eyes flashed with anger, not that Snape could see them.

"And I should have _stayed_ gone! Now, leave!"

"NO!" shouted Harry, frightening the two wolves that had been hovering on the edge of the property. One light, one dark, just like the two halves of Snape's soul, he thought.

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><p>The burly man stepped between them. "There be no need fightin' at Christmas. Let's go inside and work this out."<p>

He placed his hand on Snape's shoulder. Snape drooped a little in defeat before letting the burly man guide him to the door. Harry followed right after.

Once ensconced in a breakfast nook with cups of hot chocolate, Harry faced Severus. "Please, Professor, how did you survive? I felt you die in my arms."

Snape was reluctant, but he finally muttered, "That was a ruse, Potter. I needed you to take my memories and leave. To go seek your destiny."

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><p>Harry looked sad at this. "I've always felt bad about that, how I just left you there. And afterward your body was gone. What did you use to survive?"<p>

Snape took a swallow of hot chocolate to soothe his gravelly throat before answering. "Anti-venin, dittany, blood-replenisher. I portkeyed to my safehouse, landing in a room filled with boxes of potions and ingredients."

Harry studied Snape. It was unnerving how his eyes didn't roam while he talked. "What aren't you telling me?"

Snape looked pained. "The anti-venin was not a complete success."

Epiphany dawned. "Your blindness."

"And my loss of coordination."

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><p>"Ay, he was a right mess, weren't ya? said the burly man. "Been bleedin' all down his front, he was, just as bright red as that poinsettia plant when my wife found 'im. She was visitin' her cousin tailor who lived next door and heard all the ruckus from Sev'rus' place. Somethin' smashed I think it was."<p>

Snape frowned in disgust. "My glass cauldron." It didn't even take Harry's limited intelligence to guess how much that must have pained him.

"My wife brought 'im back here and we nursed 'im. Later we found he had an aptitude with the owls."

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><p>"That's quite a career change," Harry said. "How did that come about?"<p>

Snape sneered. "Think, Potter. Potions is a delicate subject around dangerous materials. I wouldn't be able-"

"I get that; I meant about the owl training."

"One day Sev'rus was sittin' and starts chirpin'. Craziest thing I ever saw, they flocked right to his window. We got 'im workin' for us after that, right, dear?"

A plump woman holding a silver platter walked into the kitchen. "That's right. He's good, too. Want to take a raspberry and show the lad?" She held out some raspberries for Severus to take.

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><p><strong>AN:** Okay that's the third set. Hope you are still enjoying it. Reviews make nice presents. See you again on Dec 20!


	4. parts 16-20

This is a series of Advent Drabbles for Snarry image prompts. Each part is exactly 100 words.

**Prompts 16-20:** candy canes, mulled wine, card with holiday balls, mince pie, Yule log

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><p>Snape sighed but took the raspberries. "Come. I will show you."<p>

"You don't have to, sir," Harry said, not wanting to irritate him.

Snape leant forward over the table, trying to be menacing. Harry wasn't sure which was worse - his old intensity or this new blindness. "It's not really up to you, Potter. Besides, too much curiosity always led you into trouble. Better to douse that spark now."

Harry felt his magic rise up with his anger. The candy cane in his hand snapped and his magic flared, changing the sweet into letters.

One eyebrow rose. "I rest my case."

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><p>"Matilda, would you fetch me an orange from that mulled wine as well?" Snape asked.<p>

"Gladly." She took out the fruit and placed it in his hand with the raspberries.

They walked back outside, Harry subdued after his magical outburst.

Snape stopped in the snow. He stretched out his arms, wand in hand, and chirped in a repeating pattern. Not long after, a brown owl flew toward them. It landed on Snape's left arm, hooting in pleasure.

Then he flicked a raspberry into the air and made it dance with his wand.

The owl darted after it like a snitch.

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><p>Snape floated the rest of the raspberries off into the trees. The sugar coating allowed them to look like miniature holiday ball decorations sparkling among the evergreens.<p>

After it had caught its treat, Snape called the owl back to his arm. He stared at it and started chanting something low. Even without sight, the whole thing smacked of Occlumency.

"What's he doing?" Harry asked.

"Talkin'. That's how he trains 'em, see?"

The owl flew off, grabbed a raspberry and brought it back. Snape peeled the orange and handed it a piece. The owl hooted happily.

Harry stood there in awe.

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><p>Harry continued to watch, amazed at Snape's proficiency. If the owl searched and brought back the little fruit correctly, it received a slice of orange; if not, he'd tap it on its head, repeat the Occlumency communication, and start over.<p>

He couldn't remember when Snape had been this patient with any of the Hogwarts students, but it brought back thoughts of sitting in his bed, eating mince pies and reading the Half-Blood Prince's potions book - Snape's book.

Harry's admiration for Snape - his intelligence, his tenacity, his very presence - grew. He found his face heating, and it wasn't from the cold.

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><p>Snape turned to Harry, his sightless eyes boring into him. "Satisfied? Now affirmed I'm perfectly employed, you may leave."<p>

Harry's eyebrows lowered. "I still need an owl for Teddy."

"Aye," the burly man said, his hand firmly on Snape's shoulder. "Think of 'im and let your magic pick out an owl. Then Sev'rus will train it up."

Harry let his magic loose. None of the barn ones were right, so he extended himself further. A flash went out, knocking them all down, and when they came to, a beautiful long-eared owl stood there, a decorative yule log in its talons.

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><p><strong>AN:** Oh, my, what has Harry done now? Last installment on Dec 25!


	5. parts 21-25

This is a series of Advent Drabbles for Snarry image prompts. Each part is exactly 100 words.

**Prompts 21-25:** toast w/ two champagne flutes, silver bells, gingerbread men cookies, Santa putting presents under Christmas tree, sledding in front of Hogwarts

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><p>"That's some fine bird!" the burly man exclaimed. "Should be a right challenge for you, Sev'rus."<p>

Snape was engrossed in the owl. It appeared they were sizing each other up.

Harry was a bit embarrassed that his magic had acted up again, but at the same time it was allowing him to feel Snape's magic currently assessing the owl. He evaluated the damage left by Nagini's bite.

"Sir, I have an idea about your injuries. May I have two flutes of champagne?"

The burly man thought he'd gone off his rocker but asked his wife to bring the drinks anyway.

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><p>"It's an adequate specimen, Potter, although it goes against my better judgement to train it."<p>

"Let me sweeten the deal. I'll heal your injuries: you'll train Teddy's owl."

"Because you are so adept at healing magics."

"Actually, I'm an apprentice. Now, drink this."

Snape sniffed then drank. "Crazy Gryffindor ideas."

Harry downed his own glass. Using the effervescent bubbles, he linked his magic from himself to Snape. As the alcohol absorbed into Snape's bloodstream, Harry followed it to his injuries.

He chanted. His magic permeated the air, and they could almost hear the tinkling of silver bells in the background.

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><p>Snape gasped as he felt Harry's magic enter him. He raised his hand to his neck, which had become red with heat. Little wisps of black smoke emerged out from around his fingers and dissipated on the air.<p>

His limbs began to tremble and he dropped to his knees in the snow, like a gingerbread man cookie bumped off its plate. The burly man rushed to him, grabbing his arm in support, clearly worried. "Sev'rus?"

Snape shouted and grabbed the back of his head. The magic crescendoed and flashed!

And then Snape's eyes, blank a moment before, _focused_ on Harry.

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><p>"Such experimental, magical bursts could be costly, Potter."<p>

"I know. After the war my magic was very wild. I hermitted away to work on control; it took me years. By then, I decided to be a healer."

"This isn't normal healing magics, though. I pursued all to no avail."

"True. Part of my apprenticeship has been developing new methods. I remembered you chanting the cure for Sectumsempra, and we're using that as a basis for alternative medi-wizardy."

Snape examined him for deceit but found none.

"So, will you train the owl to be ready for Santa's gift delivery?"

"Yes."

"Brilliant."

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><p>Snape stood in the doorway of Andromeda's house carrying the long-eared owl on his arm and knocked.<p>

"Severus, you made it!" Harry beamed at him and let him in. "Teddy! I have a special gift for you!"

A boy with bright blue hair came running into the hallway. "What is it, Uncle Harry?"

"This is Severus Snape, whom you've heard us talk about, and this is your new owl that he trained for you."

Teddy's face went from excited to slightly fearful to utter awe at sight of the owl. "Wow. He's beautiful. What's his name? Is it a he or a she? Do I get to take it to Hogwarts?"

Harry laughed at the boy's exuberance. "He's all yours, Teddy. You can name him whatever you want and of course he'll go to Hogwarts with you. He'll even follow you while you ride the horse-drawn sleds through the snow next year."

"Awesome." Teddy took the owl and walked back to the living room, talking softly to it and petting it.

"It's wonderful. Thank you. Come have a toast with me."

"You're welcome, though I should be thanking you." Snape lifted his glass. "To Magic."

Harry smiled. "No. To Light."

The End.

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><p><strong>AN:** Reviews make great presents any time - hint, hint.

**Merry Christmas, everyone!**


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